Top 30 Mekhi Phifer Quotes

It’s nice to always have been able to remain consistent. I’m very thankful for that and to work on shows that I can be proud of, and films.

I’m a soccer dad at heart. I want five kids, and I want to get married. I want to coach Little League.

In the early ’80s, it was hard to find celebrities you can identify with if you lived in the hood. There weren’t any rap videos at the time.

When break dancing was out, I break danced. When rapping was the thing, I freestyled rap on the street and battled and all that kind of stuff.

I’ve dated interracially a lot. I grew up in Harlem, so I’ve dated Latins, Dominican, Guyanese, Cuban, black, white.

When you’re working and making money, that’s all good, but there has to be something that provides a substance, I think.

I tend to play more true-to-life characters in real situations.

I love character-driven, well-written, great storytelling types of films, and I think that ‘My Cousin Vinny’ just hit the nail on the head with everything. It’s one of those movies that, if I’m flipping through the channels, no matter what part it’s on, I can watch it. It’s just one of my favorites.

If you go into something saying, ‘I’m the bad guy,’ you do yourself a disservice as an actor. It’s always about trying to find the humanity in a character.

I don’t really like hospitals that much. People are sick; sometimes it can be depressing. There’s people going through a lot of pain in there. It has that funny smell.

I think, in any artist‘s mind, you can’t just be into yourself. You have to look at the world in an objective view.

A lot of characters I’ve played have a certain amount of strength, pride, and leadership.

I know a lot of people who are weak, who are in a perpetual cycle of poverty and being locked up. There are guys from my neighborhood who are in jail or who are dead. It does take a certain strength to know your environment and say, ‘I can grow beyond it.’

Toronto is like a smaller, safe New York.

I always try to bring a certain masculine presence to what I do. That is part of the dynamic.

I always try to pick and choose projects that will be impactful to someone. From films like ‘Clockers’ to playing a doctor on ‘ER’ to doing ‘8 Mile,’ where I’m in charge of the hip-hop battles, I think it affects all kinds of different audiences. And I just try to keep that in mind, to keep people entertained.

Anytime you join a show that’s been successful, there’s a certain responsibility. And a lot of anxiety that, you know, you’re bringing the character to life, respecting the show and doing your part. So that you are not the weak link in the chain.

I love working with Sally Field, and Steve Buscemi is one of the most giving, talented actors I’ve ever worked with.

I grew up in a rough environment. You want to be strong and have your presence felt out there. That attitude reflects how people see you.

Eating right has made the biggest difference in my body.

Being from New York, living in L.A., being in Chicago, you kind of get more of the big-city, melting-pot sort of thing. But when you drive through the country, there’s so many small pockets of people that don’t experience people of different backgrounds. So what they’ve seen on television is their baseline.

Rap is definitely a youthful expression.

I do like sci-fi, absolutely. I’ve watched everything from ‘Star Trek‘ to ‘Star Wars‘ to ‘Terminator’ – the list goes on and on.

I almost turned down ‘8 Mile.’ I was due to start ‘ER,’ and I learned they really wanted me to be in ‘8 Mile.’ I didn’t know Eminem; I just knew he was a rapper and saw what everyone else saw in the media. I thought they were just trying to capitalize on his popularity.

I loved the extended version of ‘Aliens’ because it shows just a little bit more that you don’t see and what they always show on television.

There’s no question that I’m African-American. OK? I’m a black man. We’re not going to escape that.

I’ve done 21 films in eight years, and I’ve said ‘No’ more times than I’ve done films.

Once or twice a week, I try to do some kind of boxing. I’m hitting the bags and jumping rope – all that stuff.

I love kids, outings, camping, sports, Legoland, all the Daddy stuff. I love it. I wish I could just do that, but I have to work, too.

My agents usually get a breakdown of all the projects that are out there. When I got ‘Divergent,’ they hadn’t finished the script. They knew they wanted the leader of the Dauntless to have a certain demeanor and energy. They had me read a short monologue, and I got the part.